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crimsoncor's review against another edition
4.0
I like how this book plays with the audience's expectations. . There is a lot the book never explains. That's a feature, I think. Telling too much can be a negative in fantasy (death by info dump). Instead the reader can piece together a lot of what is happening in the background from what is happening in the foreground. There are enough clues to pull it all together. I'm excited to see where book 2 goes.
Spoiler
We start the book assuming our protagonists are humans. And then swiftly find out they're not. A dark take on elves and their relationship with "lesser mortals". There is a lot of fascist implication here which is, unfortunately, not explored as fully as it could be. It shies a bit into "the good germans" territory, except for the part where the entire empire is destroyed and its people driven into exile. That was unexpected.emrchi's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
evenshadow's review against another edition
2.0
I picked this up after reading and loving Persephone Station, and was extremely disappointed.
There were parts of this that I enjoyed. The Waterborne, some of the early encounters with Nels, that was interesting. I liked both Suvi and Nels even though the argument could be made that they basically have the same personality, just with different hobbies. However, the plot seemed to lose momentum as it went along, becoming slower and slower until the last 250 pages were a slog. I honestly think that this series could have been one long book if Leicht had cut out all the dead weight.
The politics could have been interesting if we'd been given a more compelling reason to care. As it is, we don't really have a stake in the Acrasia vs. Eledore fight aside from the fact that Nels and Suvi are likeable. We aren't given a reason to be afraid of or hate the enemy. It's just two governments killing off the poor because that's what governments do. By the time the stakes are raised in the war, there is no reason to care who wins. I understand the desire to show how pointless war is and avoid a 'this race bad, this race good' binary, but we still need someone to root for. When there's clear villains on both sides (actually, more on the side we're meant to care about) and the reader knows you're not going to kill off all your main characters because at least one has to survive for there to be a second book, there's no tension, no stakes, no victory either way. There was so much unnecessary political b.s. in the middle that it just made me want both sides to lose out of spite for wasting my time with their nonsense.
Also, can we please stop fetishizing children having sex? Please? Thanks. I don't see any good plot reason that Nels and Ilta are together romantically, and though I assume Ilta takes a larger role in the later books, there are so few chapters here from her POV that it's pointless to have her there at all. There could have been so many other ways we could have learned about her role, if it's really even necessary.
There were parts of this that I enjoyed. The Waterborne, some of the early encounters with Nels, that was interesting. I liked both Suvi and Nels even though the argument could be made that they basically have the same personality, just with different hobbies. However, the plot seemed to lose momentum as it went along, becoming slower and slower until the last 250 pages were a slog. I honestly think that this series could have been one long book if Leicht had cut out all the dead weight.
The politics could have been interesting if we'd been given a more compelling reason to care. As it is, we don't really have a stake in the Acrasia vs. Eledore fight aside from the fact that Nels and Suvi are likeable. We aren't given a reason to be afraid of or hate the enemy. It's just two governments killing off the poor because that's what governments do. By the time the stakes are raised in the war, there is no reason to care who wins. I understand the desire to show how pointless war is and avoid a 'this race bad, this race good' binary, but we still need someone to root for. When there's clear villains on both sides (actually, more on the side we're meant to care about) and the reader knows you're not going to kill off all your main characters because at least one has to survive for there to be a second book, there's no tension, no stakes, no victory either way. There was so much unnecessary political b.s. in the middle that it just made me want both sides to lose out of spite for wasting my time with their nonsense.
Also, can we please stop fetishizing children having sex? Please? Thanks. I don't see any good plot reason that Nels and Ilta are together romantically, and though I assume Ilta takes a larger role in the later books, there are so few chapters here from her POV that it's pointless to have her there at all. There could have been so many other ways we could have learned about her role, if it's really even necessary.
lyrrael's review against another edition
5.0
OMG OMG you guys, it's like Stina Leicht took all of her favorite fantasy things and stuffed them into a single narrative and it's AWESOME. READ THIS BOOK NAO. So you know how Brian McClellan got all those mad props for that crazy awesome flintlock fantasy a couple of years ago? This is that, except that along with the war and the scheming for the throne, you’ve also got a son who was disinherited for the throne in favor of a daughter, the rise of demons, sea monsters, a plague, and SO much more, all wrapped into one tidy narrative with some fantastic writing. THIS IS SO WORTH THE READ.
marmot28's review against another edition
4.0
Very solid fantasy with complex family relationships, ancient magic, and gritty war. I liked the view-point characters: a soldier prince, his adventurous twin sister, and a young healer.
oneheart's review against another edition
5.0
Every once and a while I read a book that I enjoy even though it makes frequent use of literary elements and styles I don't typically enjoy. A handful from Cold Iron are:
And that's just what I can remember off the top of my head. So I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed it! At the moment, I can't put my finger on it as to how it won me over, but I'm incredibly impressed that it did.
Looking forward to the next installment and hoping it continues on for many more.
- naming every single character no matter how brief their appearance
- significant developments happen in between chapters
- needlessly creating unresolved problems by adhering to a tight 3rd person point of view (seriously is Vicktor's family ok?)
- and I never felt I had a solid understanding of the plot
And that's just what I can remember off the top of my head. So I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed it! At the moment, I can't put my finger on it as to how it won me over, but I'm incredibly impressed that it did.
Looking forward to the next installment and hoping it continues on for many more.
wishanem's review against another edition
4.0
An entertaining Fantasy novel set in a world with a 1700's level of technology, and primarily concerned with a declining kingdom of Scandinavian-style elves at war with their petty, venal, neighbors, the humans.
The plot wraps up well enough to be pretty satisfying, but there are so many unsatisfyingly incomplete elements that I classify this as first-in-an-incomplete-series rather than standalone-with-sequel-potential.
The plot wraps up well enough to be pretty satisfying, but there are so many unsatisfyingly incomplete elements that I classify this as first-in-an-incomplete-series rather than standalone-with-sequel-potential.
ghostlydreamer's review against another edition
2.0
I don't know what compelled me to pick up this book the Friday before I started college, but I think it was a bad choice. There are a few reasons for this.
When I think of Cold Iron, I think about that Sunday before I started college for the first time, lying on my floor, anxious as fuck about all the changes that were coming the next day. I'd never been to college before. I'd never done anything like it. Everything was so new, so frightening, so...anxiety-inducing. I could hardly concentrate on reading because I was so focused on the unknown. So I stared at the page, longing for escape that wouldn't come. Thing is, I don't think the story was really all that compelling to start with. But it was made worse by what I was going through at the time. Thing is, I'd spent the ENTIRE summer engaging in all my favorite avoidance/defense mechanisms. That meant I read for sometimes six to eight hours a day, and was why I was able to get through so many books so quickly. I wasn't working, was just basking in my summer, living through constant anxiety concerning driving and starting college. And then, that weekend before everything changed, I was unable to engage in the very thing that had worked for so long. Escape simply wasn't possible. And I think that ruined the book, if we're being honest.
But I don't think my dislike for the book had EVERYTHING to do with my poor mental health at the time. If I recall correctly, none of the characters stood out to me. Things jumped around in plot all too much. I remember sitting there wondering how the fuck we got from point A to point B...and getting frustrated as a result. I didn't want to go back and figure out how that happened. Connecting the dots wasn't something I had the capacity to do. I know that sounds bad, but look. I was trying to ESCAPE. And I wanted an EASY escape. Not something that made me think. And this story simply didn't suck me in to begin with.
So I DNFed it on my first day of college. *insert upside down smiley face* I simply wasn't going to subject myself to a book that I didn't enjoy when I was going through so much. That first day was rough, and I needed something different. So I DNFed the book and never looked back.
At least it only cost me a couple dollars during my Hasting's clearance sale. Hell, this thing might have been one of the last books I bought from there... Needless to say, I don't have it anymore. But it's funny how much this one disappointed me, because I remember eyeballing it for months before I finally got my hands on it. Oh well. Just another book that simply wasn't for me.
But welcome to a new phase in my reading career! When I started college, I became far more open to DNFing books than I had been that summer, and it all started with Cold Iron. I thank it for that.
When I think of Cold Iron, I think about that Sunday before I started college for the first time, lying on my floor, anxious as fuck about all the changes that were coming the next day. I'd never been to college before. I'd never done anything like it. Everything was so new, so frightening, so...anxiety-inducing. I could hardly concentrate on reading because I was so focused on the unknown. So I stared at the page, longing for escape that wouldn't come. Thing is, I don't think the story was really all that compelling to start with. But it was made worse by what I was going through at the time. Thing is, I'd spent the ENTIRE summer engaging in all my favorite avoidance/defense mechanisms. That meant I read for sometimes six to eight hours a day, and was why I was able to get through so many books so quickly. I wasn't working, was just basking in my summer, living through constant anxiety concerning driving and starting college. And then, that weekend before everything changed, I was unable to engage in the very thing that had worked for so long. Escape simply wasn't possible. And I think that ruined the book, if we're being honest.
But I don't think my dislike for the book had EVERYTHING to do with my poor mental health at the time. If I recall correctly, none of the characters stood out to me. Things jumped around in plot all too much. I remember sitting there wondering how the fuck we got from point A to point B...and getting frustrated as a result. I didn't want to go back and figure out how that happened. Connecting the dots wasn't something I had the capacity to do. I know that sounds bad, but look. I was trying to ESCAPE. And I wanted an EASY escape. Not something that made me think. And this story simply didn't suck me in to begin with.
So I DNFed it on my first day of college. *insert upside down smiley face* I simply wasn't going to subject myself to a book that I didn't enjoy when I was going through so much. That first day was rough, and I needed something different. So I DNFed the book and never looked back.
At least it only cost me a couple dollars during my Hasting's clearance sale. Hell, this thing might have been one of the last books I bought from there... Needless to say, I don't have it anymore. But it's funny how much this one disappointed me, because I remember eyeballing it for months before I finally got my hands on it. Oh well. Just another book that simply wasn't for me.
But welcome to a new phase in my reading career! When I started college, I became far more open to DNFing books than I had been that summer, and it all started with Cold Iron. I thank it for that.
virginiaduan's review against another edition
2.0
I just can't get past the first few chapters. I truly hate the main boy character and I am bored and annoyed. My new resolution is to not waste time reading things that annoy me so I'm done. Bye bye.
triplzer0's review against another edition
Made it over halfway on this second attempt. Not going to finish it.